Friday, July 20, 2012

On Monday we headed up to Chattanooga to trade back kids with our friends, the Higleys. Gray had enjoyed a weekend on the farms of McMinnville, while Mckay had hung out with us in good old Atlanta. After splashing around in the Riverwalk and stopping for some Cold Stone(this will come into play later), we decided to let the kids have one last run on the playground before we loaded into the cars. Turns out, this was a terrible, no good, very bad idea. Just as I was parking the stroller I heard G yelling from the other side of the playground. Even from where I stood, his arm looked wonky. I ran, scooped him and made splint out of out of beach towels, all while yelling at Bonnie "Where's the children's hospital? Look up the Children's Hospital!" I knew I had seen signs on the freeway, but beyond that had no idea. We quickly traded keys so she could fit the remaining 5 boys into our van and I cradled G as I ran to the parking lot. A lady next to me was loading up and I asked her where the hospital was. She wasn't sure, but thought it was on 3rd. Bonnie's car didn't have GPS, so I said a quick prayer and raced off to 3rd. With a lot of luck and prayers we found it quickly, snagged an open parking spot right out front and ran in.

At this point G was screaming bloody murder and even through the towels you could tell his arm was deformed. The registration lady got his name, bday and ran back to get a nurse. Within 15 minutes of walking into the ER G had an IV with morphine and things settled down. After a set of x-rays and an ortho consult we found that Gray had broken his radius and would need to be sedated to have it reset. Thanks to the 3 bites of chocolate/sprinkle ice cream he had right before the fall we settled in for a 4 hour wait.

Once G was comfortably watching X-men I went to work on the other kiddos. We were 2 hours from home, Reed was somewhere in Eastern Europe, and my awesome friend Bonnie now had 5 boys to corral. At first we tossed around her heading home to McMinnville with all the kiddos, but I quickly decided that it was important to have G at home for his recovery. Bonnie offered to drive the boys back to Atlanta, but she was borrowing her Mom's car and flying out to California the next day. So, that really only worked as a last resort. At this point I may have broken down and cried b/c of the sheer logistical impossibility of the situation. I wracked my brain and called our next door neighbors, Nima and Nalin. Within 20 minutes Nalin was on the road to meet Bonnie and take Matts and Christian home. Gray and I settled in for 4 hours of quality cuddles while watching the old Xmen.

Meanwhile, Nalin met Bonnie half way and Matts and Christian were at home, in bed by 9:00pm (Apparently Little C did not like unexpected people putting him to bed. So, Matts stepped up and read him his story and tucked him in. According to Nima, we must be raising him right :). Bonnie came back to the Hospital, we traded cars and they were on their way. By then it was 8:30pm and while I was trading cars with Bonnie, some women stole my parking spot and strolled leisurely into the hospital, which meant parking in the garage, which meant a 5minute walk back :(, the ortho resident came and prepped G for the procedure and then went to find the attending Ortho doctor and a crowd began to gather. Apparently resetting a bone is pretty cool and EMTs, volunteers and nurses all wanted to watch. I asked if I could stay and was totally denied. After a "brief" 2 1/2 hour wait (the ER doc began muttering that he should've sent us down to Scottish Rite and we could've already been home) the ortho came, G was sedated, they popped his radius back in and splinted his arm. He did great and came out of anesthesia fairly quickly, although he kept saying "whooooa, I'm really dizzy" and commenting on my 3 heads. A popsicle, a sling and an almost forgotten blanket later, we were in the car and headed home. We grabbed some McDonalds for the invalid and then flew home and were in bed by 2:30am.

A few things I learned. First, never underestimate your friends. Bonnie and Nima and Nalin completely stepped up and made an impossible situation unfold without drama (as well as Ariel who drove over just to let Allie out). Second, I am never leaving home without a pashmina again. The hospital was FREEZING! I think they were worried I was going into shock, but really I was just shivering in my sundress and flipflops because of the Artic air. Third, never park in front of the ER unless you are in a real hurry to get in. Fourth, always keep a supply of Lortab on hand. This way you won't have to stop at the 24hr pharmacy when it's already past midnight. Fifth, watch your kiddos closely. G hasn't complained about pain once. But, he has been super sensitive and cranky. I finally put 2+2 together and since starting regular pain meds, rather than waiting for him to complain, life has gotten much better. Sixth, even watching your kids closely these things happen. Both the ER doctor's and our Ortho surgeon's children have broken arms on the monkey bars. But, for some reason, I feel incredibly guilty about this whole experience. Maybe it was because Reed was out of town and I was solely responsible, maybe it was because I didn't see the fall, maybe it was because I had to juggle the kids around and spend 30minutes on my phone while G was in that big bed with a broken arm, or maybe it's because life is crazy and I don't have hours to spend reading to him in bed while he rests.

Which leads to the last point of this neither short, nor brief, post. At the Pediatric Ortho on Wednesday we made a game plan that includes 3 weeks of a long cast, with weekly x-rays, to make sure his bone stays in place. Then, Gray will switch to a short cast and we are free to head off to London and get it removed after 3 weeks by an ortho there. Because our life and this move wasn't complicated enough :)